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Modulating semantic feedback in visual word recognition.

M C Smith1, D Besner

  • 1Life Sciences Division, University of Toronto, Scarborough, ON, M1C 1A4 Canada. smith@scar.utoronto.ca

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|May 9, 2001
PubMed
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This study investigated activation spread in visual word recognition. Findings suggest that top-down activation from semantic to lexical levels can be blocked, similar to bottom-up blocks.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • The interactive activation framework posits bidirectional activation spread in visual word recognition.
  • Bottom-up activation spread (e.g., letter to word level) can be blocked under certain conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether top-down activation spread (e.g., semantic to lexical level) can also be prevented.
  • To examine the directionality of activation blocking in visual word processing.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a choice task procedure involving prime-target word pairs.
  • Employed lexical decision and letter search tasks to probe different levels of processing.
  • Manipulated task demands to influence the direction of activation flow.

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Main Results:

  • Semantic context effects were observed in the lexical decision task, indicating semantic-level activation.
  • No semantic context effects were found in the letter search task, despite evidence of lexical involvement.
  • Experiment 2 showed greater identity priming for words than nonwords in the letter search task.

Conclusions:

  • Feedback from the semantic level to the lexical level can be blocked.
  • Activation blocks can occur in both bottom-up and top-down directions during word recognition.